Senate Republicans Propose Partial DHS Funding Plan as Shutdown Negotiations Continue

By Sarah Ferris, Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett, Alison Main

*Published: 2026-03-24*

Senate Republicans have proposed a plan to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a shutdown that has lasted nearly 40 days, though President Donald Trump and top Democrats have expressed reservations.

The proposal, discussed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other GOP leaders with Trump during a White House meeting on Monday evening, calls for funding all DHS operations except a portion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) budgets related to removals. The plan explicitly includes funding for ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division, which targets cartels, human traffickers, and child predators. Republicans indicated they would later pursue a separate bill to fund ICE removals and incorporate elements of Trump's proposed voter ID legislation, known as the SAVE America Act.

Trump commented on the plan Tuesday afternoon, stating, “any deal they make, I’m pretty much not happy.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN the same day that Democrats would not accept the GOP offer without additional changes and planned to present a counterproposal.

“We’re looking at their proposal and we will have a counter offer,” Schumer said.

GOP leaders responded that Democrats could not demand reforms to ICE without agreeing to fund the agency. “If you are not going to have funding, I don’t know how all of a sudden you can demand reforms,” Thune told reporters Tuesday.

The shutdown has resulted in extended security lines at airports, affecting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operations and federal workers who have gone without pay. Congress faces pressure to resolve the impasse.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a full-year DHS funding bill on January 22, 2026, by a vote of 220-207 along party lines, including full ICE funding. The measure stalled in the Senate following shootings in Minneapolis involving ICE and Border Patrol agents during an armed deportation operation. Two U.S. citizens were killed in the incidents: one, Alex Pretti, had a pistol recovered at the scene despite video footage showing him holding a smartphone. A prior four-day DHS shutdown from January 31 to February 3 ended through a short-term continuing resolution.

Some Republicans close to Senate GOP leadership expressed confidence in securing bipartisan support for a funding deal to reopen DHS. Thune and his team have worked to align their party, including Trump, amid the disruptions at airports. They anticipate sufficient Democratic votes from those seeking resolution.

Senate Democrats convened midday Tuesday to discuss strategy. Multiple senators supported Schumer’s stance while requesting more details on the GOP proposal.

“I’d like to see us get some reforms,” Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic member of the Appropriations Committee, said, referring to ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and DHS’s investigative units. “I’d like us to get some reforms that mean we don’t have roving bands of masked unnamed agents grabbing people off the street or policing sensitive spaces. And there have been reasonable offers and good discussions on both sides.”

Two people familiar with the discussions told CNN that top Republicans believed Trump supported a similar idea previously, despite his earlier rejection of a comparable proposal on Sunday. That Sunday plan would have funded all DHS components except ICE enforcement operations, but Trump declined and criticized Democrats on Truth Social for not supporting the SAVE America Act.

A White House official stated to CNN on Tuesday, “Conversations are ongoing but this deal seems to be acceptable.”

Trump has shifted positions on DHS funding and the elections overhaul bill. In recent days, he indicated reluctance to approve DHS funding without Democratic support for the SAVE America Act, which Democrats have rejected.

If Senate Democrats agree to the current proposal, it would advance to the House, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. GOP leaders would then need to develop a subsequent bill addressing remaining ICE funding and voter ID provisions ahead of midterm elections.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, described funding DHS without ICE removals funding as a straightforward option.

“Let’s keep working on ICE [reforms] and let’s open everything else up,” Murphy said. “As I leave tonight, that still seems like the most likely path this week.”

Democratic Sen. Peter Welch highlighted progress in negotiations, including the departure of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the relocation of ICE operations from Minneapolis. He attributed the Minneapolis changes to local residents' actions amid the shootings and noted White House acknowledgments that certain deportation policies had exceeded appropriate limits.

“The fact is, we’ve made significant progress. Noem is gone. That’s a big deal. She was reckless, lawless, corrupt. That’s big progress. Number two, ICE is out of Minneapolis. We owe that basically to the brave citizens in Minneapolis who, in the face of enormous violence, stood up to protect their neighbors. And then you’re seeing out of the White House an acknowledgement that this mass roundup policy is way over the top,” Welch said.

Thune described discussions as positive during remarks Monday evening. He said he “feels good” about the emerging agreement but remained cautious until finalized.

“All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and productive and I hopefully headed in the right direction.”

Senate Democrats have held meetings with families of those affected by the Minneapolis shootings, according to reports.

This story reflects ongoing bipartisan talks amid a multi-round funding dispute, following the earlier House passage and short-term resolution.

*This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.*

CNN’s Lauren Fox and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

*(Word count: 1012)*